Salinas pauses Oldtown Farmers Market expansion as businesses push back.

The Saturday morning farmers market in Oldtown Salinas is bustling with hundreds of people shopping for groceries and enjoying ready-made food like pupusas or pancakes. The market is so popular, in fact, that it is ready to expand. But brick-and-mortar business owners on Main Street say not so fast.

The market moved to its current location on the 300 block of Main Street about four months ago, after it outgrew its Gabilan Street home. Before the pandemic, the market was modest in size, with between 20 to 25 vendors. Then Covid hit, outdoor shopping became the norm, and it doubled in size – now about 70 vendors sell food, produce, arts and crafts.

Business owners on Main Street initially welcomed the market expansion. But now several claim that the farmers market isn’t an asset to their revenue – in some cases it is actually causing a decrease in sales.

“This market is supposed to benefit the downtown businesses, and it currently does not,” Trish Sullivan wrote in a June 6 email to Steve McShane, councilmember and president of Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce; Ernest Azevedo from Salinas’ recreation and community services department; and Steve Ish, Taylor Farms’ representative on the Salinas City Center Improvement Association. “It is detrimental to business on Main Street.”

Sullivan, who owns Downtown Book & Sound, further claimed that sales for many businesses have plummeted by 60 percent on Saturdays.

Todd Williams, an operating partner of Cherry Bean Coffee Roasting Company, says sales remain the same. But that doesn’t mean he is happy with the way things happen during the weekly market – Williams says brick-and-mortar businesses are hidden by vendor tents. “Our customers can’t get into our front or back doors,” he says.

Williams further adds that many people who walk into the coffee shop are just looking for restrooms – an amenity he thinks the market itself should provide. “I’m not in business for restrooms, I’m in business to sell coffee,” he says.

Williams’ biggest concern, however, is the splashes of grease that prepared food vendors leave behind without proper disposal. It stains the sidewalks, is a hazard for pedestrians and it can contaminate the soil and water.

In her email, Sullivan outlined a list of requests that, she says, would improve the market experience from the business side: restrooms, booth spacing so businesses can be seen from the street, and a deep street cleaning after the market. She also proposes that the city either move the market off Main Street or change the timing to Wednesday night.

Jerry Lami, executive director of West Coast Farmers Market Association and manager of the Oldtown Salinas Farmers Market, says business owners want special treatment. “They’re looking for us to lead the people directly into their stores,” Lami says.

He claims the expansion would benefit everyone because the market would have enough room to leave business entrances clear. As for the request for bathrooms, Lami notes that isn’t a requirement for farmers markets – organizers are only required to provide these facilities for vendors. Salinas’ special events form, however, says Monterey County Health Department recommends one toilet per every 250 people and the city would determine the required number on a case-by-case basis. Lami says the market is currently working with El Rey Theater to provide bathrooms for customers. Salinas Library and Community Services Director Kristan Lundquist says this might not be enough, and there is a possibility of installing portable toilets.

On June 8, Lundquist sent an email to Joe Panzer, vice president of the Oldtown Salinas Foundation, saying any further expansion of the market is now on pause. “The city feels strongly that the market has great potential but there are ongoing concerns that we would like to see addressed,” Lundquist wrote. “We want to make sure that the expansion is successful if we get to that point.”

McShane agrees that issues like restrooms and parking should be addressed before expanding the market. “The market is a victim of its own success,” he says.